March 2, 2017

Recipient Name
Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania
400 E. Second St.
Bloomsburg, PA 17815-1301

Dear Recipient Name:

We are writing to inform you of our intention to make recipes for
college students who are hungry and are not aware of the low cost
meals that can be prepared. Many college students are not vocal of
this problem and as such, are falling under the radar.
To make these recipes as easy and as efficient as possible, we have
some of the ingredients being used in more than one recipe. This will
make the recipes simpler to make, so that those who are not very
capable of cooking would not have too hard a time cooking.
We are hopeful that our recipes put together with the recipes of other
groups, will provide the hungry students with the necessary
information for them to be healthy and satisfied.

Sincerely,

Lauren Kerstetter
Project Title: Promoting Healthy Eating

Technical Writing - INTSTUDY-231_05-06

Spring 2017 Dr. Michael Martin

Kyle Sisco

Lauren Kerstetter

Richard Horwath

Efe Koch

Vincent Barbati

March 1, 2017
 Table of Contents

Page

I. Introduction 1
II. Problem 1
III. Solutions 2
IV. Costs and Benefits 3
V. Deliverables and Deadlines 3
VI. Qualifications 4
VII. Conclusions 4
VIII. Contact Sheet 5
IX. Signature Page 6
Appendices
A-A: Estimated Time Line 7
A-B: References 8
 1

I. Introduction
Hunger is an issue that is present in nearly every community, though it
often goes unrecognized. College campuses are no exception to this
plight. This is a serious problem that needs to be addressed, as too
often our peers lack adequate nutrition. Our team has identified three
key elements that contribute to the prevalence of this issue: tight
budgets, busy schedules, and the convenience of unhealthy,
nutritionally empty foods.

Through careful consideration of the needs and resources of college

students, we have contrived three healthy recipes that can be
prepared by anyone experiencing such time and budget constraints. As
a group, we decided on recipes that employed several of the same,
versatile ingredients. All three recipes may be prepared for less than
$10, and the nutritional content of these recipes is in accordance with
the daily nutrient intake values established by the U.S. Food & Drug
Administration. Furthermore, these authors plan to include the
estimated preparation time of each recipe, nutritional and serving size
information, and tips on how to maximize time and budget efficiency.
We believe that publishing recipes like these, in a format that is
appealing and easily accessible to college students, will result in an
immediate and profound improvement of the wellbeing of our peers.

II. Problem
The United States Department of Agriculture characterizes food
insecurity by reduced food intake, disrupted eating patterns, and/or a
lack of balanced meals, due to a shortage of money or other resources.
(United States Department of Agriculture) A 2016 study of food
insecurity among college students found that 48 percent of
respondents experienced food insecurity within the 30 days prior.
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Students affiliated with the National Student Campaign Against Hunger

and Homelessness, and the College and University Food Bank Alliance
Hunger conducted this study, which has been the larges sample of its
kind to date, with 3,800 respondents from 12 states, across 34 college
campuses. This startling statistic clearly indicates the need for a plan
of action. Some consequences of hunger and malnutrition are fatigue,
loss of concentration, and a compromised immune system. (Dubick)
With classes, jobs, bills, and other obligations, college students are
under more than enough pressure. The burden of these hunger-related
stressors is unnecessary, unjustifiable, and largely preventable.

III. Solutions
With the ideal of efficiency at the center of our deliberation, our group
sought recipes with ingredients that have high nutrient densities by
weight and by cost, that could be purchased in economical quantities.
The obvious answer was rice and beans. Rice and beans are dietary
staples of many cultures around the world. Together, they constitute a
complete protein, providing up to %40 of ones recommended daily
amount per serving (Cond Nast). This pairing is also packed with
dietary fiber (%58 DV), iron (%45 DV), Phosphorous (%34 DV),
Manganese (%70 DV), Folate (%90 DV), Thiamin (%41 DV), and many
more essential nutrients that are often lacking in the highly processed
foods frequently consumed by college students (Li). Furthermore, both
rice and beans can be purchased in bulk quantities, with long shelf
lives and easy storage. For example, a 10-lb sack of enriched white rice
from Walmart will end up costing less than half of a penny per cup
serving, each of which triples in volume when cooked.

Through our three recipes, we will demonstrate the versatility of these

food staples, by preparing them in diverse and delicious ways. For an
appetizer, we chose an easy black bean dip with homemade tortilla
 3

chips. As an entre, we chose vegetarian tacos, stuffed with rice, beans,

and vegetables, and for dessert, rice pudding. Several of the same
ingredients are used in different ways in each recipe, which will
ultimately simplify the food preparation process for students.

IV: Costs and Benefits

These recipes suit the needs of college students by being economical
and flexible. Excess quantities of rice and beans may be prepared at
the start of each week, and used in a wide variety of healthy,
convenient, and filling meals to help college students stay ahead of
their hectic schedules. These recipes also demonstrate the utility of
tortillas as a cheaper, gluten free alternative to wheat products. Each
recipe calls for at least two of these three key ingredients: rice, beans,
and tortillas. In this way, the versatility of three simple pantry items
may become more commonly known among college students. We hope
that by introducing college students to just a small sampling of options,
they can then use their own tastes and creativity to continue to cook
healthy meals.

While item prices vary by store and by product, savvy consumer tactics
can help keep the cost incurred by students to a minimum. The
average cost of the proposed recipes will be under $10. These recipes
are also very open to modification and creativity. Ingredients can be
added, removed, or substituted to accommodate anyones tastes,
income, allergies, or dietary needs.

V: Deliverables and Deadlines

Below is a list of the documents and project elements that we will be
creating. We have also included a time line of tentative dates and
 4

deadlines in Appendix 1, which will serve to guide our progress along

this project.

List of ingredients
3 Recipes
Usability Testing and Results
Meal Preparation Instructions
Budget Analysis

VI: Qualifications
As college students, we are in an auspicious position to present
effective solutions to the problem of food insecurity among our peers.
We believe that by combining our abilities and experiences, we will be
able to provide students with a collection of healthy, low-cost recipes,
in a format that is friendly for all audiences. The documents we plan to
prepare will demonstrate skills such technical precision, audience
analysis, and critical thinking, all of which are being developed through
our Technical Writing class.

VII: Conclusion
Our purpose for these recipes is to provide a nutritional meal at the
lowest price in order to help students that have financial difficulties
achieve food stability. Our recipes, in combination with those from
other classes, will provide sufficient dietary options so that students
will not need to worry about a lack of meals. With the dual delivery
system of printed materials and online presence, we will reach the
most students possible.
 5

VIII: Contact Information

Project Manager: Kyle Sisco

ks86611@huskies.bloomu.edu

908-455-1803

Content Manager: Lauren Kertstetter

lek32294@huskies.bloomu.edu

570-854-5977

Content Manager: Richard Horwath

rjh59764@huskies.bloomu.edu

570-216-2863

Technical: Efe Koch

eek48927@huskies.bloomu.edu

570-445-1624

Audience and Usability: Vincent Barbati

vdb45207@huskies.bloomu.edu

5708478773
 6

IX: Signature Page

Project Title: Promoting Healthy Eating

By signing your name, you approve of the above proposal.

Author Kyle Sisco

Signatur ______________________________________ Date:

e: _ ____________________
_

Author Lauren Kerstetter

Signatur ______________________________________ Date:

e: _ ____________________
_
 7

Author Richard Horwath

Signatur ______________________________________ Date:

e: _ ____________________
_

Author Efe Koch

Signatur ______________________________________ Date:

e: _ ____________________
_

Author Vincent Barbati

Signatur ______________________________________ Date:

e: _ ____________________
_
 8

Instruct Dr. Michael Martin

or

Signatur ______________________________________ Date:

e: _ ____________________
_
 9

Appendix A Estimated Time Line

3/2/17-Proposal Submitted

3/7/17-Persona Documents and Usability Subjects

3/14/17-Initial Recipes Tested and Beta Formatting

3/30/17- Progress Report and Presentation

4/18/17-Finalized Recipes and Instructions

4/20/17-Finalized Formatting

5/2/17-Final Product
 10

Appendix B References

Cond Nast. Red Beans and Rice Nutrition Facts & Calories. 2014,
www.nutritiondata.self.com/facts/recipe/1525961/2?
nc=1&autosave=form.info.autosave

Dubick, James, et al. Hunger on Campus The Challenge of Food

Insecurity for College Students. Oct. 2016,
www.studentsagainsthunger.org/wp-
content/uploads/2016/10/Hunger_On_Campus.pdf

Li, Kin-Kit, et al. Study: College students not eating enough fruits and
veggies. 17 Aug. 2011,
www.oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2011/aug/study-college-
students-not-eating-enough-fruits-and-veggies. Accessed 10 Feb.
2017.

United States Department of Agriculture. Definitions of Food Security.

4 Oct. 2016, https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-
assistance/food-security-in-the-us/definitions-of-food-
security.aspx. Accessed 11 Feb. 2017.

United States Food and Drug Administration. Labeling & Nutrition. 20

Jan. 2013,
www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegu
latoryInformation/LabelingNutrition/ucm064928.htm. Accessed
11 Fab. 2017.